


silent tonight

by orphan_account



Category: Love Live! School Idol Project
Genre: Drabble, Duet, F/F, First Kiss, NicoMaki, Piano, short fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-01
Updated: 2018-02-01
Packaged: 2019-03-12 02:39:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,325
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13537926
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: nico had started listening maki's piano playing sessions at the end of the day. this day seems a little special.





	silent tonight

**Author's Note:**

> hi!!!! this is my first fic,, i haven't written for fun in a really long time so i hope this is ok. thank u for reading!

Some days, after school, Nico would find herself waiting on Maki in the piano room. It wasn't an agreement, not even a silent one; it was something she did only once or twice a week. She would slip in and sit in the first row of seats, and whenever Maki came in to play, Nico listened softly, profoundly. There were no jokes, simply Maki playing and Nico listening. Nico and Maki never even talked about it. There was nothing to necessarily talk about. At the end of Maki's session, they parted ways and Nico went home to take care of her siblings.

Nico rarely listened to Maki on Fridays. It was a mix of being ready to get home and a mix of her needing to shop for her little brother and sisters. But her mom was home from her work trip, and Nico was feeling extra nostalgic, so she slipped into the band room. Light poured in from the windows, and dust danced in the spotlight. It was elegant, pure. It was like it was dancing to one of Maki's compositions.

She sat down on the wooden bench and waited patiently for Maki.

The piano player walked into the music room after half an hour. She seemed surprised to see Nico there but shifted her gaze to the piano as she sat down. Maki's face flushed, just a little, but Nico barely noticed. The way the light that flitted through the window left defined shadows made Maki look like a model. She could have sworn she had seen a picture in a magazine just like this, with red hair curling softly over her shoulders and with her eyes glinting as she looked to something off camera and with the dust twirling around her. Suddenly, Maki brought up a hand and pressed a key.

It was an E-sharp. The soft sound echoed through the room. Back in middle school, or maybe even grade school, little kids learn about the three basic forms of matter. This singular note was just like a gas. It filled the room, edge to edge. Nico's own stomach was filled with the sound and the feeling of butterflies as she heard it. And then, Maki started playing.

When Maki played, Nico understood why ancient civilians thought the earth was the center of the universe. Every note Maki hit, the seasons changed. Nico was filled with the shock of winter, the warmth of summer, the comfort of spring, the soft feeling of fall. As Maki's hands gently brushed the ivory keys, Nico could swear the cherry blossoms outside of the school bloomed. And as Nico listened to the rhythm, she realized her heart had fallen in sync with the beat. Maki put this passion into these notes, feeling, as if it was a love song. It was as if each and every note was the word in a confession she had carefully planned.

Maki was beautiful in these moments. Not beautiful as in pretty, and not beautiful as in cute, and not beautiful as in the fragments of a model Nico had seen moments before. Maki was beautiful as a piece of art is. In these moments of real feeling, pure feeling, Maki was like a Cézanne. She was like a Pinchon. She was like a Monet. She seemed like every great painting there ever was. She seemed to be the manifestation of every beautiful song. Nico's heart bounced out of her chest, filled with feelings of nostalgia and astonishment and a blooming warmness in her stomach.

Soon, Maki's song was over. The light that filled the room had turned to a soft brown, the brown of a day that was almost over. Maki looked up from her piano, and it took a few moments for Nico to realize she had been crying. Tears pooled at the corners of her eyes and trickled down her cheeks. Her face had turned a scarlet red and she was breathing hard, as if she had ran miles. It looked like playing that her song had left her exhausted. It had taken everything out of her to play the notes, and Nico pulled herself up from the wooden bench.

"That was beautiful." Nico only spoke in a whisper. It felt rude to ever speak louder than the song had been. Just like how, a century ago, buildings wouldn't be built higher than the church in a town; it felt as if she'd be breaking an unspoken rule by doing so.

"I wrote lyrics to go with it." Maki said and looked up at her, wiping her tears. She pulled her music sheets off the music rack and shuffled through them. Maki held out a sheet. "Sing it in your real voice. The deep one. I think it would fit better."

"A duet?" Nico chuckled softly. 

"Read the mood, or I won't ever play for you again."

Although Nico was kidding, she didn't feel like she could sing this song. It felt like she was unworthy. But, she nodded and turned around.

E-sharp filled the room and Maki played once again. From this close, Nico could hear Maki's ragged breathing. She didn't even quite know where to come in, but she started where she felt the lyrics went best. The words flowed out of Nico like she had been singing them since she was young. They were beautiful, and somehow, they fit the piano accompaniment. It _was_ a love song, too, just as Nico had thought to herself before. 

At the end of the song, she was filled with the same butterflies she had felt when she first sat in on Maki playing, the butterflies she felt when she had heard that E-sharp earlier. It was a feeling that left her standing there after she sang, reeling over the lyrics. Nico hadn't realized she had sang it with the same emotions Maki played the piano. It was passion from deep in the dark pits of the heart. It was pure, forceful, harsh. As she stood there, the last lyrics sung, listening to Maki finish out the backing to the song, she realized what that passion was strung from. It was from love. The passion was not inspiration or motivation. It was love, and maybe some hate. Nico's heart thumped as Maki struck the last note.

Maki was breathing hard just as before, but so was Nico. It was in fact a long song, and even the most trained singers would feel tired after performing something at such length. She thought about the lyrics again, and she turned around to face Maki. Maki's hands rested gently on the piano, and her legs were crossed. She seemed casual, yet flushed and tired. 

"What do you think? I mean, I don't really care." Maki stuttered her words out. She obviously really did seem to care. Nico at her from where she was standing.

"It was," Nico paused, and stepped forward until she was only a foot from Maki, "good. I think."

They were close now, Maki took note. From this point, Maki actually was shorter than Nico. It was an odd feeling, to stand over someone for so long, and then they suddenly have power over you. They were both still breathing hard when Nico reached down and pressed her lips against Maki's. It made her feel light headed, as if the room was spinning. She almost fell right into the other girl. Now, the dust danced around them both as the golden sunlight wrapped them up in the midday light. Nico used her hands to pull Maki closer and felt the warm spot where the sun had been hitting her hair. It was hot to the touch, almost as flushed as Maki herself. It was like touching the sun. Nico must've been Icarus. 

Nico pulled out of the kiss and pressed her forehead to Maki's as she spoke. "I don't think we can play this one on stage, though." 

**Author's Note:**

> i feel like it was written super weirdly?? but i guess thats ok sometimes hehe ... i obviously dont play the piano so i hope everything is ok with that and i feel like the characters are really ooc i also wrote all of this in one sitting and only proofread about twice so??? sorry if there are any mistakes. thank u for reading!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


End file.
